I propose to take Questions Nos. 42 and 52 together.
Under the first call for applications from the Climate Action Fund, I approved funding of up to €10 million to support ESB eCars to develop a nationwide, state-of-the-art electric vehicle fast charging network.
The project includes the installation of 90 high-power chargers each of which will be capable of charging two vehicles simultaneously, upgrading 50 existing standard chargers to fast chargers and replacing over 250 existing standard chargers with next generation high reliability models. This is a multi-annual project and is expected to commence this year and be fully completed by 2022.
Determining the location of chargers is a key element of the project and will be an on-going process as the project develops. ESB ecars will identify the most appropriate locations for the chargers to be sited using a range of criteria. This will include using the latest software mapping techniques, taking account of information on current charge point usage, traffic volume, accessibility, amenities and grid capacity. A provisional map of the planned network, showing indicative locations, was developed by ESB ecars and has been published on my Department’s website.